Chapter 34: Chunin Exams (6): Jiraiya and the Prophecy.
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto.

STEP. STEP. CRUNCH. SQUINT—

In front of a thick, iron fence, three genins stepped out of the training ground 44. Met with the blinding rays of sunlight, all three of them squinted their eyes, using their hands to provide shade for their eyes.

The three were a team of two boys and a girl. The girl had black hair that was tied into a bun behind her head. One of the boys had trim, slick black hair, while the other had long, silky brown hair that was tied into a ponytail behind his back.

All three of them possess strong jawlines and delicate faces, their skin was flawlessly smooth, their eyes were glossy and vibrant, and their lips were plump and red. Their existence makes others believe that they are pampered by the gods above.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Suddenly, all three of them stopped simultaneously, their shoulders trembling, and their heads bowed down.

Finally, one of them couldn't hold back and jumped into the air, his hair tie undoing itself, letting his brown hair bloom like a flower in mid-air, and his lips curved into a sunny smile.

"All right! I qualified for the next phase!" Hiroko cheered, his arms waving in the air after he landed.

The boy with black hair sighed, while the girl smirked and nudged Ken's arm with her elbows. She said, "Let's go to a ramen shop. It'll be my treat!"

"YEAH!" Hiroko punched the air, "I'll treat you guys to barbecue and dango as well!"

Ken laughed. Hiroko's favorite snack is ramen, Akemi's favorite snack is dango, and his favorite snack is barbecue.

"Then, I'll bring you two to the beautiful spots in the hidden leaf village," Ken smiled. Hiroko and Akemi abruptly turned to look him in the eye, their grins reaching their ears.

"It's a promise!"

"Okay, now that we've eaten our fill, let's go to the garden…"

Ken said, but he stopped when he saw Hiroko halt. Akemi looked at him before following his gaze to look at Hiroko, "Guys," Hiroko said, before looking at his two teammates with a light smile on his face.

"I have a surprise for you, but first, you have to return to the apartment!" Hiroko grinned.

Akemi tilted her head, "Why—?"

"Okay, we'll return to the apartment," Ken said before dragging Akemi away and leaving Hiroko behind. Hiroko didn't move, looking at his teammates; departing backs. When the two disappeared into the crowd, he turned his head to his right and locked his gaze on a man with spiky white hair sitting on a boulder.

His legs were crossed, his eyes were closed, and his breathing was steady. He seems to be meditating, but failing spectacularly judging by the way his brows violently twitched every three seconds.

Hiroko's face turned flat, 'I wonder if I'll leave this village in one piece,' I thought, and approached the white-haired man when I noticed the small toads surrounding him.

Kak—kak!

(A/N: Apparently, that's a sound that toads make.)

'Amazing. I didn't even sense them!'

The toads were definitely there, but if I don't pay attention, they would vanish as if I was hallucinating.

'As expected of the greatest spy in the world,' I nod my head internally.

"Hello," when I was three meters away from the man, I smile and put my hands into my pockets, "Jiraiya of the three legendary ninjas. It's an honor to meet you in flesh."

The white-haired man open his eyes and sent a glance at me before closing them again and taking a deep breath.

Then, he reopened his eyes, the rays of sunlight reflecting his dark-brown pupils. With those eyes, he looked at me from head to toe.

"So," Jiraiya put his hand on his chin, "you are Naruto Uzumaki, eh? Not bad."

I froze, but my shock didn't last for a second as I chuckle, "As expected. You saw through my disguise."

"Of course. I'm the legendary toad sage," Jiraiya crossed his arms, "If I can't see through your simple disguise, then I should retire."

"What are you going to do?" I ask, making Jiraiya raise his brow. "Are you going to expose me?"

Jiraiya laughs, "Why should I?" he asks.

"Isn't it obvious? I am the jinchuriki of the nine-tailed fox. I am Konoha's most valued weapon," I snicker, "I bet they coughed up blood when they realized that their golden coin slipped through their fingers and landed under their noses."

Jiraiya shrugs, "You have a point, but I get a lot more if I hide your identity," Jiraiya sighs, "I heard you messed up Orochimaru's clone. That's something impressive, you know?"

Seeing Jiraiya change the subject, I raise my chin and one of my eyebrows. "And?"

"Because of that, he became obsessed with the Uzumaki clan," Jiraiya frowns, "he apparently wants to use Uzumaki blood to improve his fuinjutsu skills."

I tilt my head. "Shouldn't he work on his genjutsu skills instead?"

"If only it were that simple." Jiraiya sighs. "His problem comes from his… incomplete self," Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, and I do the same.

"And fuinjutsu can solve his problem?" Jiraiya shrugged. I nod my head, "I get it," but I thought otherwise.

"Now, let's get back to the main point." Staring at Jiraiya's eyes, I ask, "Why are you willing to hide my identity?"

"Because of Danzo, and because—" Jiraiya paused. "Nevermind, I'll tell you the other reason later on. For now, let's focus on Danzo." Jiraiya said, "You may not know, but Danzo became the 'shadow hokage.'"

"A what now?"

"A shadow hokage. Long story short, the second hokage," Jiraiya's face turned gloomy, "and ever since, the village treks on a narrow string," Jiraiya pointed at me.

"The civilians are forced to work more to pay higher taxes and rent, and they are obliged to send their children to the ninja academy."

"What?"

Do they plan to…?

"Yes, the shadow hokage is bolstering the village's military strength. Who knows, maybe he's preparing to wage the fourth great shinobi war," Jiraiya spoke slowly, his voice thundering and the setting sun behind him made his body glow red, his long, spiky, white hair swaying with wind and leaves.

"Ridiculous," I spat out.

"It is," Jiraiya spit on the ground, "But what can you expect from a war hawk? He eyes only the battlefield and turns a blind eye to his back. He does not know that as he charges forward, his army behind him is crippled and tired, wanting nothing more than to stab his back while yearning for a better leader," Jiraiya spoke with a flat tone, his eyes hiding unknown emotions, but Hiroko could feel them all.

Jiraiya was akin to a rusty machine.

Not because he is faulty, but because the one responsible to clean and maintain the machine is turning a blind eye.

No wonder he is overheating, and about to break.

'But I'm pretty sure that all of this—' I was thinking when I heard Jiraiya bloom into laughter as if his previous disappointment was just a mirage.

"Oh, and, if you're planning on putting the blame on yourself, then don't bother," Jiraiya patted my shoulder, "I believe that this day would happen sooner or later. It just happened sooner rather than later."

'Sooner rather than later, huh?' I look at Jiraiya's eyes and found no lies. There wasn't even a trace of blame in those dark pupils of his.

'Or is he just good at hiding his emotions? He is a spy, after all.'

We stared at each other for a while. The wind blew, and the sky began unfolding the stars, yet we were still standing like statues.

"Hiroko… no, Naruto," Jiraiya corrected himself. I was about to say something when he suddenly stopped me and placed a solemn expression on his face.

"Tell me, and be honest. You disappeared and then blew Danzo's base, then you died, and then you became a rich tyrant. What will you become next?"

My eyes widened.

"Akemi, What are you doing?"

Ken asked when he saw Akemi shake off his hand. They were in front of their apartment, and Ken was about to drag her inside when the latter halted.

"Do you… really not suspect Hiroko?"

Akemi asked, her head pointed down.

"What do you mean?"

Ken asked, his eyes following Akemi's gaze. She was looking at her clenched fists.

"Ken, you are smarter than me. Surely you know that—"

Ken blocked her mouth. "Akemi, I know what you're talking about," Ken whispered.

"But, please. For me and you. And for Hiroko. Please be quiet. Please pretend that—"

"—that NOTHING is wrong?" Akemi yelled, "Ken! You know I like Hiroko. Even if he doesn't like me back, I'm fine with that. But as his friends," Akemi's voice cracked, "Why can't he at least tell us the truth? Why won't he show us his true face?!"

Ken shut his mouth. 'Akemi, I don't think he thinks of us as friends,' Ken shook his head and patted his teary-eyed teammate's back. "Let's go inside. I'll tell you a story… about Hiroko. Aren't you curious who he truly is?"

In the village hidden in hot waters, no one is smarter and more cunning than Ken.

"The moment you left the village, I got an order to find you and take you back."

"But after learning about what happened, I decided to watch first. Have you ever wondered why no ROOT shinobi found you after the first time?"

I nodded. After those two ROOT shinobi found me, I changed my identity to hide. But strangely enough, no one questioned my fake identity. The ROOT division is full of elites, and even if I switched bodies, they can find me through other means.

As the jailor of the nine-tailed fox, they surely have my blood somewhere in the hospitals. They have access to dozens of forbidden techniques, and I don't believe that they aren't capable of finding me through my blood or soul.

"After you blew up Danzo's base, I finally found you and started following you. I misled all the ROOT shinobi who came after you, and I placed a blindfold on the Hokage's eyes."

"When you went to the eastern forest, nicknamed the Bandit Forest, I wanted to bring you back but decided against it. Did you meet an old ninja there? He's my friend."

Old ninja… is it? Right, I was wondering how he didn't sense me hiding right below him, why he wanted to save the other Uzumaki puppets…

And why he buried Ichiro right above me.

"After you escaped the three bandit leaders, I wanted to talk with you, but you actually went into the land of whirlpools," Jiraiya laughed.

"Didn't you know? That place is a forbidden island. If a person with no Uzumaki blood in their veins steps foot in that place, they will be assaulted by hundreds, no, thousands of chakra beasts. Each of those chakra beasts is at least Jonin level."

Jiraiya sighed.

"It's because those beasts were created by the Uzumaki clan heads and were improved by each succeeding clan head. It was a defense mechanism called the 'Beast Wave,'" Jiraiya reminisced when the Sanin was tasked to "search for survivors" in the land of whirlpools. He scoffed at the memory filled with the stench of a rotting rat.

"Only the older seniors of the clan know about it. The juniors don't even know that its purpose was to protect them. They only know that they exist and that they must stay away from those powerful beasts," Jiraiya sighed and looked into the skies.

Seeing that he finished his tale, I asked a question I'd been itching to ask.

"Then, I have another question"

Jiraiya raised his eyebrow.

"Why did you follow me and protect me?" I asked.

"Oh, and here I thought it was some serious question," Jiraiya laughed out loud. This guy really likes to laugh, I thought.

"Naruto," Jiraiya focused his gaze on my eyes, "You are my godson."

I froze. My heart paused and my mind blanked.

Time seemed to halt as I asked with difficulty, "What?"

Jiraiya chuckled and walked next to me, rubbing my hair with a smile on his face.

"You are my godson. And, for what it's worth, I'm sorry," he apologized, "I'm sorry for leaving you alone."

DRIP. DRIP. DRIP.

As the sun began setting, the red rays of sunlight illuminated the crystals that trickled down Jiraiya's face.

"You…"

For some reason, I couldn't form any other words. For some reason, my eyes became blurry.

For some reason, my cheeks became wet, my body trembled, and my breathing became rough.

Rustle…

The man's sturdy body embraced me, his big palms holding the back of my head and bringing it close to his chest, while his other hand clutched my shoulders.

"I'm sorry, my godson," Jiraiya said, his voice faint and shaky, "I'm sorry that I was not there when you needed me."

Just then, a breeze passed by, and the last rays of sunlight went over us and painted our bodies with a warm hue of red.

As the sun dips into the horizon, the moon above us shone and covered us with a silver blanket.

"Godfather…"

My voice cracked.

"From now on, don't try to run away," Jiraiya held me tighter, "You're not alone, and I'm here. I'll always be by your side, and I'll always protect you," Jiraiya said.

"Because you are my only family left."

Finally, droplets of water rained down on both of us, with the moon and stars in between us.

Worthy of the prophet title, the Great Toad Sage is truly wise.

End Banner has something to say: I've been working on a OneShot story right now but I don't plan on publicizing it until I finish the whole thing (To avoid another Naruto: The Tragic Hero, which has been on hiatus for a while now). You can check out the OneShot story about Itachi, currently titled "I'm Sorry, Friend," on my Pátreón page!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's chapter!

If you want to read more chapters in advance (up to chapter 44 and OneShot stories) and influence the story, you can check out my Pátreón page!
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